Knowing Martin as well as I did, I can tell you that he'd be hugely embarrassed by the attention given him posthumously here on SWIFT. He was a very private man, shy and reclusive. It took me many months to gain his trust -- and his affection -- but it was among the better investments of my time, I assure you. He shared with me opinions, bons mots, and a few secrets that I treasure.

I don't know that Martin Gardner ever spoke before an audience. Everything he wanted to communicate with the outside world can be found in his generous list of books and commentaries, and that -- alone -- provides us with a lifetime of research.

Oh, I miss him greatly, and I encourage SWIFT readers to sing his praises -- but with proper respect, of course...

Here is the post that includes the piece I wrote for Martin a long while ago.

SWIFTis named after Jonathan Swift, the author of Gulliver's Travels. In the book, Gulliver encounters among other things a floating island inhabited by spaced-out scientists and philosophers who hardly deal with reality. Swift was among the first to launch well-designed critiques against the flummery - political, philosophical, and scientific - of his time, a tradition that we hope to maintain at The James Randi Foundation.